Progress Through Unity

COVID-19 Information

April 9, 2020 By

ATTENTION ALL EMPLOYEES SUBMITTING INFORMATION TO MEDICAL SERVICES VIA FAX OR E-MAIL.  

PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IN ALL SUBMISSIONS: 

  • Name
  • Employee ID Number
  • Contact Number and/or E-mail Address
  • Business Line: (Bus/Rail/Access Link/Light Rail/Corporate/Police)
  • Union or Non-Union
  • Job Title
  • First Date Out

Your documentation may not be processed if you do not include all the above information. Also, please remember to submit your documentation only ONCE – sending multiple copies delays processing.

If you are having trouble getting through to the NJ TRANSIT COVID-19 hotline at (973) 378-6200, please try the alternate line at (888) 890-0729. If you continue to have trouble, please have your supervisor call NJ TRANSIT Nurse Heather Capell, at (856) 968-3981 (office) or (973) 558-1687 (cell).

Filed Under: Local 60 News

COVID-19 Information

April 9, 2020 By

COVID-19 UPDATE:  

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR EMPLOYEES PREPARING TO RETURN TO WORK AFTER QUARANTINE OR RECOVERY FROM COVID-19 

If you have been quarantined: 

Please contact NJ TRANSIT’s Coronavirus hotline – at (973) 378-6200 – at least 3 days before your healthcare provider has cleared you to return to work. This will give our nurses time to process your MD-40 form, which is necessary to reinstate you into the workforce.

If you have contracted COVID-19: 

Before returning to work, you must first submit the appropriate documentation from your healthcare provider, saying you are fully recovered and no longer contagious. Documentation can be sent via e-mail to Medical@njtransit.com. Then – at least 3 days before you have been cleared to return to work – please contact the hotline, to begin processing your MD-40 form.

If you are having trouble getting through to the hotline, please try the alternate line at (888) 890-0729, or have your supervisor call NJ TRANSIT Nurse Heather Capell, at (856) 968-3981 (office) or (973) 558-1687 (cell), to expedite the process.

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Members out due to Child Care obligations from the COVID-19 pandemic

April 6, 2020 By

We will update this information as it becomes available. Employees will be eligible for relief under the state FMLA coverage. The attached Leave of absence form must be filled out and signed by the employee. Depending on the type of leave, the employee must provide the requested documents.

Also the employee note at the bottom of page 1, if he/she would like to use vacation pay or any other accrued leave to pay themselves for the first 10 days. An employee can also request to be paid “Earned Sick Pay” at 2/3 pay, this pay will not affect their accrued leave bank.

Documents must be attached in order to be approved. As a reminder the employee will have 3 days to provide documentation to support his/her need for leave. 

Download (PDF, 178KB)

Download (PDF, 137KB)

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Message from our National Legislative Director

April 4, 2020 By
Late this afternoon, a bipartisan group – consisting of 7 Republicans and 7 Democrats – from the U.S. House of Representatives sent a joint letter to FRA Administrator Ron Batory and FTA Acting Administrator Jane Williams strongly encouraging both to give full and fair consideration to the recommendations of SMART-TD outlined in the petition for worker protection and sanitation standards to protect our members against the coronavirus.

Receiving this joint letter from such a high level of Members of Congress hopefully will encourage Administrators Batory and Williams to look beyond what the carriers tell them. The letter was sent in part due to the agencies not responding to a March 20th request from SMART TD President Jeremy Ferguson asking the agencies to implement sanitation and preventative measures in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The FRA did grant safety waivers to the carriers on March 25th, only minutes after the carriers asked.

It is often said that getting Members of Congress to agree to even the simplest things, is like herding cats; but at this time of urgent crisis, key members of the House, from both parties quickly came together to assist in our efforts to protect essential workers throughout our transit and rail networks. This joint letter did not happen by accident — it happened because of a combined effort from our D.C. office as well as Mike Ingrao who is a former TTD alumni who represents several Republicans friendly to labor and our State Directors. Special thanks to Ron Sabol from New Jersey, Ty Dragoo from Kansas, Bob Borgeson from Nebraska, Bob Guy from Illinois, Paul Pokrowka from Pennsylvania and others. Working together is key.

To read the rest of the story from SMART-TD click here.

In Solidarity
Greg Hynes
National Legislative Director
SMART Transportation Division

Letter sent to FRA and FTA.
Fraternally,
Greg Hynes
National Legislative Director
SMART Transportation Division
Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News

Resources available for COVID-19

April 4, 2020 By

Your officers wanted to reach out and inform members of mental health options that are available for us.

We are in incredibly stressful times and everyone is being affected by the demands of our jobs, while trying to protect ourselves and our family. We will all be personally affected by the COVID-19 and there are tools available to us to help get us through.

Please understand that we are all in this together and will need to rely on each other to get through this, support your sisters and brothers. Avoid social media, focus on factual news sources, reach out to your officers for factual property information.

We will come out on the other end of this better, stronger, and smarter by leaning on each other, your local 60 sisters and brothers. 

Be safe, protect yourself, and please use the below resources even if you think you do not need it, the information you get can be shared and save someone else. 

Fraternally, 

Your GCA 610A, LCA A,B,&C, & Local 60 officers

https://www.apa.org/research/action/speaking-of-psychology/covid-19-mental-health

https://smart-union.org/news/covid-19-emotional-support-services-available-to-all/?link_id=9&can_id=66124a8e8eb73c09c0712166f96ab417&source=email-smart-td-website-issue&email_referrer=email_755836&email_subject=to-all-members-and-retirees-from-td-president-jeremy-r-ferguson

https://www.horizonblue.com/

https://www.horizonblue.com/mobile/download-myhorizon

Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News

Trainman’s Bulletin

March 31, 2020 By

Crew dispatchers are requesting that bids be sent via email to tjobs@njtransit.com If possible due to the limited access to their office.

Filed Under: Local 60 News

OSA (Sleep Apnea)Update

March 30, 2020 By

Just an update on the OSA policy, the recent change requiring quarterly compliance has been reversed. Members affected will receive a follow up letter detailing that the previous policy (annual compliance) will be in place.

Filed Under: Local 60 News

Local 60 Meeting Information

March 28, 2020 By

President Jerome Johnson reached out to the international president’s office regarding our monthly meetings and was instructed as follows:

Our regularly scheduled monthly union meetings are cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic until further notice.  Additional communications will be posted as to when the monthly meetings will resume, or as new information becomes available.

Download (PDF, 106KB)

Filed Under: Local 60 News

How COVID-19 Bill (CARES ACT) Affects TD Rail Members

March 28, 2020 By
How CARES Act Affects TD Rail Members

On March 27, Congress passed and President Donald Trump signed into law the CARES Act that provides provisions favorable to SMART Transportation Division members as the nation continues to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The bill provides a $2 trillion relief package to the nation as it copes with COVID-19, the novel coronavirus that has killed hundreds and infected thousands of Americans.

“This bill helps to provide some short-term relief to the transportation industry that has been staggered by the coronavirus,” National Legislative Director Greg Hynes said. “In the event that carriers continue to cut workers or that employees get sick, those workers, including our members, will have extended financial protection. It also gives a financial lifeline to Amtrak as the passenger carrier’s operations have been severely curtailed by the pandemic.”

This relief bill:

  • waives the seven-day waiting period for benefits provided under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act (RUIA).
  • provides an enhanced RUIA benefit of $1,200 per two-week period in addition to regular RUIA benefits.
  • extends Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) sickness and unemployment benefits by 13 weeks.
  • provides RRB $5 million in additional grant funds to administer the RUIA.
  • provides $1 billion in funding to keep Amtrak operational to prevent, prepare and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including $492 million to the Northeast Corridor and $508 million to support its long-distance service.
  • tasks Amtrak with providing congressional reports regarding employee furloughs, if they occur.
  • provide relief checks up to $1,200 per person, $500 per child. Click here to calculate your amount.

The economic uncertainty and long-term health risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic present a challenge nationally, and the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB), which administers railroad sickness and unemployment benefits, is advising all railroaders to set up a RRB account. Click here to establish your account.

Due to the IT restraints and volume of contacts to the RRB, members are advised to access the RRB site from a computer, not a phone or tablet. Establishing an account gives workers a head start in the event that RRB unemployment or sick benefits are needed by RR workers in the case of carrier furloughs or illness.

Additional RRB funding and the removal of RRB benefits from the budget sequester implemented by congressional Republicans during the Obama administration may be considered in subsequent relief packages.
Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News

COVID-19 Report

March 25, 2020 By

Your union needs reports of what is actually happening in the field.

If you are aware of an employee who has tested positive with coronavirus, or if a carrier is refusing to provide a clean and sanitized workplace as well as supplies for sanitation, please let us know by using the form below.

Submissions via this form will go to union leadership and be used as evidence to support emergency measures sought by the SMART Transportation Division in petitions to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Your identity will remain anonymous.

CDC guidelines state that employers should do the following to prevent the spread of COVID-19:

  1. reduce transmission among employees,
  2. maintain healthy business operations, and
  3. maintain a healthy work environment.

As transportation workers are considered to be essential workers, even in a time of national emergency, making them exempt from stay-at-home orders issued by local, state and federal officials, it is paramount that these guidelines be followed so that the health of workers, co-workers, their families and the general public is not jeopardized by employers’ failure to follow CDC protocols.

If  CDC measures are not being followed, workers are encouraged to fill out additional details below. This information will be submitted to Vice Presidents, State Legislative Directors and General Chairpersons for resolution.

https://smart-union.org/td/covid-19-report/

Filed Under: Industry Related, Local 60 News
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